Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, the sýslumaður, which is commonly translated to English as sheriff.
Description
In British English, the political or legal office of a sheriff, term of office of a sheriff, or jurisdiction of a sheriff, is called a shrievalty in England and Wales, and a sheriffdom in Scotland.In modern times, the specific combination of legal, political and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.
- In England, Northern Ireland, or Wales, a sheriff is a ceremonial county or city official.
- In Scotland, sheriffs are judges.
- In the Republic of Ireland, in some counties and in the cities of Dublin and Cork, sheriffs are legal officials similar to bailiffs.
- In the United States, a sheriff is a sworn law enforcement officer whose duties vary across states and counties. A sheriff is generally an elected county official, with duties that typically include policing unincorporated areas, maintaining county jails, providing security to courts in the county, and serving warrants and court papers. In addition to these policing and correction services, a sheriff is often responsible for enforcing civil law within the jurisdiction.
- In Canada, sheriffs exist in various forms, with duties and powers depending on the province. In general, the provincial sheriff services manage and transport court prisoners and serve court orders. In some provinces, sheriffs provide security for the court system, protect public officials and support investigations by local police services. In Alberta, sheriffs perform various law enforcement duties in a supplementary capacity, such as traffic enforcement and responding to 9-1-1 calls in rural areas.
- In Australia and South Africa sheriffs are legal officials similar to bailiffs. In these countries there is no link maintained between counties and sheriffs.
- In India, a sheriff is a largely ceremonial office in a few major cities.
Europe
United Kingdom
The Old English term designated a royal official, a reeve, responsible for managing a shire or county on behalf of the king. The term is a contraction of "shire reeve" .The sheriff had a series of duties that included keeping the peace and providing men at arms to support the king in times of strife. Another important duty was the collection of taxes on behalf of the crown. This process involved each division of the county paying geld. To assess how much people had to pay, a clerk and a knight were sent by the king to each county. They sat with the sheriff of the county and with a select group of local knights. After it was determined what geld was to be paid, the knights of the hundred and the bailiff of the hundred were responsible for getting the money to the sheriff, and the sheriff was responsible for getting the money to the Exchequer.
Sheriffs loyal to certain nobles could and did sabotage the careers of knights against whom they, or a noble they were loyal to, bore a grudge. Groups of sheriffs with significant connections had more de facto power in the legal system than most English knights, despite their lack of land.
The term and duties were preserved in England even after the Norman Conquest. However, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the role evolved over the centuries. In modern times the sheriff or high sheriff is a ceremonial county or city official. Some commercial organisations use the term to refer to High Court enforcement officers, who were known as sheriff's officers prior to 2004.
In England and Wales, there are 15 towns and cities that retain the office of sheriff - Berwick-upon-Tweed, Canterbury, Carmarthen, Chester, Gloucester, Haverfordwest, Lichfield, Lincoln, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Poole, Southampton and York.
The National Association of City and Town Sheriffs of England and Wales was founded in 1985 by the then Sheriff of Gloucester, Andrew Gravells. Its aim is to "preserve, enhance and promote the ancient office of City and Town Sheriffs of England and Wales".
Scotland
In Scotland the sheriff is a judicial office holder in the sheriff courts, and a members of the judiciary of Scotland.''Sheriffs principal''
The most senior sheriffs are the sheriffs principal, who have administrative as well as judicial authority in the six sheriffdoms, and are responsible for the effective running and administration of all the sheriff courts in their jurisdiction. Sheriffs principal also sit as appeal sheriffs in the Sheriff Appeal Court; hearing appeals against sentencing and conviction from summary trials in the sheriff courts and justice of the peace courts. The additional duties of a sheriff principal include being Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouse Board, and chairing local criminal justice boards which bring together local representatives of procurator fiscal, Police Scotland and Community Justice Scotland, and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.''Sheriffs''
Sheriffs deal with the majority of civil and criminal court cases in Scotland, with the power to preside in solemn proceedings with a jury of 15 for indictable offences and sitting alone in summary proceedings for summary offences. A sheriff must be legally qualified, and have been qualified as an advocate or solicitor for at least 10 years. The maximum sentencing power of sheriff in summary proceedings is 12 months imprisonment, or a fine of up to £10,000. In solemn proceedings the maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment, or an unlimited fine.Sheriffs also preside over fatal accident inquiries which are convened to examine the circumstances around sudden or suspicious deaths, including those who die in the course of employment, in custody, or in secure accommodation.
''Summary sheriffs''
s hear civil cases brought under Simple Procedure and criminal cases brought under summary proceedings. Their sentencing powers are identical to a sheriff sitting in summary proceedings.Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, a sheriff is appointed under the Court Officers Act 1945, to perform some of the functions that would otherwise be performed by the county registrar. Eligibility to serve as sheriff requires five years' experience as either a sheriff's assistant, barrister, or solicitor. In practice, two types of sheriff have been appointed:- Four sheriffs, have three responsibilities:
- * executing tax certificates on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners to collect unpaid tax debts
- * enforcing court orders of the Circuit Court, such as eviction or, most importantly, debt collection for public or private creditors
- * acting as returning officer in public elections
- Fourteen sheriffs, colloquially called "Revenue sheriffs", have only the first of the preceding functions, the others being done by the county registrar's office. Revenue sheriffs are solicitors in private practice. Each covers a bailiwick consisting of one or more of the state's other 29 counties. The 14 bailiwicks group the counties as follows: Carlow and Kildare; Cavan, Leitrim, Longford and Monaghan; Clare and Limerick; Donegal; Galway; Kerry; Kilkenny and Waterford; Laois, Offaly and Tipperary; Louth, Meath and Westmeath; Mayo; Roscommon and Sligo; and Wexford and Wicklow.